The Simpsons to bring peace to Israel
Filed under: A New Reality, coexistence, History and Culture, Politics, Pop Culture, Travel
Like most existential quarrels, the Arab-Israeli conflict is a nuanced and tricky beast. Those on the outside often take a paternalistic, “Oh, those silly Middle Easterners, why can’t they just realize that coexistence is the way to go, put their weapons down and start getting along?” attitude.
In the minds of most Israelis, I’d wager, this perspective is naïve and can lead to disaster. Many have argued that Bill Clinton’s personal need to end his presidency on a positive note led to over-simplified tactics at Camp David, which in the end backfired and brought about the Second Intifada.
I’m not sure that that thesis is itself sufficiently nuanced, but diplomacy analysis aside, a similarly paternalistic outsider’s view that has informed many tongue-in-cheek pop culture Mideast peace comments. And these comments also come off to us locals as either refreshingly naïve (as in the case of the dreamy conclusion of Tom Robbins’s Skinny Legs and All) or as not necessarily adding to the discussion but amusing nonetheless (especially when they are aimed at exposing the hypocrisies and general lack of vision among our leaders, like when Bruno stopped by last summer).
And our beloved Simpsons, probably one of the greatest TV shows of all time, if not the greatest, has a dodgy track record when it comes to understanding cultural nuances from an insider’s perspective. It’s all part of being an irreverent, edgy comedy.
According to Ha’aretz, Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie are headed our way in the coming months:
Multiple media sources have quoted the show’s executive producer, Al Jean, as saying that America’s number one animated family will head to the Holy Land next year.
“I think we’re going to do one next year where they go to the Holy Land as we haven’t been there yet. The premise will be that the Christians, the Jews and Muslims are united in that they all get mad at Homer. It’s the only thing they can agree on,” Jean said.
Sometimes the international ethnic and otherwise-sensitive communities don’t manage to take The Simpsons with the appropriate grains of salt. Racial stereotypes as regular characters? But of course. Accusations of homophobia? You got it. And then there are the recurring episodes where the family travels internationally, ripping apart the cultural and ethnic mores of China, Italy, African banana republics, Ireland and Japan. They’re exceedingly funny, but sometimes people get offended. When the Simpsons traveled in South America in a 2002 episode, the Tourism Board of Rio de Janeiro reportedly seriously mulled a lawsuit against the Fox Network for libel. Or slander. Or something.
The episode that kicked off this recurring series is 1996′s “Bart vs. Australia,” which supposedly had Aussies in such a tangle that letter writing campaigns and public censuring ensued. But a closer reading of that episode reveals that it’s all tongue-in-cheek – its very plotline focuses on the Americans’ laughable lack of understanding of anything non-American, which is carried out throughout as the starting point of many quality jokes. The family barely escapes (pictured) with their lives.
So just because the Simpsons talk or act in a certain way, doesn’t mean that the show’s writers or producers want its audience to follow suit. But when it comes to Mideast peace, why not? Sometimes a little naïveté is what we need to break out of our most self-perpetuating, defeatist grooves.
Waltz with Bashir gets Oscar nod and Beirut screening
Filed under: A New Reality, Art, coexistence, History and Culture, Movies, Pop Culture, War
In the same week that saw Waltz with Bashir finally secure a place on the short list of movies nominated for the Best Foreign Film Academy Award, the movie was finally shown to the public in Beirut, where much of it takes place. Waltz with Bashir is officially banned by Lebanon, but through a loophole, a Lebanese multimedia war archive organization called UNAM was able to show the movie to a modest crowd of 90 at a “private party,” a piece in Variety reports.
Already a bona fide marvel for the innovative manner in which it melds documentary footage with animated dreamscapes, Ari Folman’s tour de force garnered acclaim on the international festival circuit before winning a Golden Globe earlier this month.
As of late last week, Bashir is one of five finalists for that Oscar, nominated alongside offerings from Austria, Germany, France and Japan, with the winner to be announced at the award ceremony on February 22. Following Beaufort‘s nomination a year ago, Bashir making the short list of Foreign Language Oscar nominees means that two Israeli movies focusing on the IDF’s role in Lebanon have received Oscar nods in as many years.
Folman himself is generally skeptical that Bashir is in a position to make a difference in the world, telling the international press on numerous occasions that he sees war as an unfortunate fixture. On the other hand, now that his movie has screened in Beirut, he has modified his stance. “In principle I don’t believe movies can change the world, but I’m a great believer in their ability to form small bridges,” Folman told Haaretz in the context of that newspaper’s coverage of the Beirut screening.
Small bridges of coexistence and peace indeed. The movie has already been shown in Ramallah and may soon receive a modest theatrical release in the gulf states, according to the Haaretz article, and last Saturday’s screening in a Beirut suburb was not simple to arrange either. The UMAM organization’s leadership is proud to have accomplished what it has with the Israeli movie:
“The subject of this film is a crucial moment in the history of Lebanon, for the history of Israel, for the history of the Palestinians, and for the history of Palestinian life in Lebanon,” UMAM founder Monika Borgmann told Haaretz.
“At some point every state must deal with its violent past and the sooner it does so the better. That’s why I think this movie should be shown,” she said.
“Yesterday, my phone didn’t stop ringing…everyone wants a copy of the film,” she said. “I think it comes out on DVD in March. The next day, it’s going to be pirated all over Lebanon.”
Victims donating to victims
Filed under: A New Reality, coexistence, Israeliness, Life, Politics, War
Throughout the recent Gaza war and its ongoing aftermath, Israelis and Palestinians have been trying to paint themselves as “the real victims” and the other side as “the real perpetrators.” But if we’re all victims, then how can we possibly take responsibility for war spearheaded by our leaders? And if we’re all perpetrators, then why would we care?
The fact is, Operation Cast Lead has meant horrible levels of destruction for the infrastructure and people of the Gaza Strip, destruction which could have been avoided if Hamas hadn’t hidden behind the human shield of one of the most densely populated areas in the world. And as we’ve seen on ISRAELITY before, just because Israelis support our government’s recent war against a terrorist regime that’s been shooting rockets at us for years doesn’t mean that we’re numb to the damage done.
Two grassroots activists are trying to organize Israeli sympathy into material support for Gazan families whose lives and homes were recently under severe fire by the region’s military superpower. 27-year-old peacenik Lee Ziv and Sapir Academic College 25-year-old student Hadas Balas (pictured, doubling as a not-so-shabby singer-songwriter) decided to collect clothing, bedding, nourishment and other essentials from donors to bring them in to Gaza.
Ziv spoke with the Jerusalem Post this week:
“There is no connection to politics,” said Ziv. “We don’t represent a side, we just see an immediate need for blankets for people who have nothing to cover them at night and milk for infants who have nothing to eat.”
Since a short radio interview on Sunday morning, Ziv said her phone had been ringing off the hook. “Within two minutes of the interview, I had 40 voice messages. The response has been overwhelming. Schools have called asking how they can help. A father called who had three sons serving in the IDF in Gaza. A woman called who had a mortar fall on her house.”
The duo thought they’d be bringing one or two truckloads of supplies in today, but thanks to the viral snowball of their email campaign, media interest like the radio interview last week, and the bandwagoning on their efforts by some key human rights organizations, the donations have been so numerous that they’re spearheading a fleet of 10 full trucks.
According to coverage in Haaretz, the duo has accomplished this feat thanks to key help from organizations like Hashomer Hatzair in Jerusalem, Beit Hachesed in Haifa and Kibbutz Kfar Aza, the Qassam-battered community which has offered up its warehouses as a depot for the donations.
More information on donating to the operation can be found here.
13 years and counting
Filed under: General, History and Culture, Life, Politics
It’s hard to imagine it was 13 years ago that Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated at a peace rally in Tel Aviv.
No-one can forget where they were or what they were doing when the news came.
I was actually at the rally itself, standing on a building looking out over what is now Rabin Square. We left before the end, bouyed by the incredible mood of hope and optimism at the demonstration. There were so many people there – 300,000 out of a population which was then only five million or so – we thought that this time peace really had a chance.
We drove to a friend’s house just a short distance away and as we walked in the door, they told us he’d been shot.
Minutes later, as we watched the TV, we heard in disbelief that he was dead.
Here, for the 13th anniversary, is a video celebrating Rabin’s life.
Towards a Palestinian and Israeli Will and Grace
Filed under: A New Reality, Art, coexistence, General, Life, Politics
What a year it’s been for parties for Shimon Peres. First came his President’s Conference in May, which brought the great and glorious from all over the world to Jerusalem to walk the halls and decorate the foyers of the International Convention Center.
Now it’s the 10th anniversary of the Peres Center for Peace, and while the guest list for the three-day Tel Aviv event is slightly less glamorous this time round, it’s still full of notable notables from the president’s bursting rolodex.
I’ve always been a great admirer of the Peres Center. Set up in 1998 when optimism was running high and peace with the Palestinians looked a whole lot more likely, the center still survived the crushing setback of the intifada, which broke out two years later. Throughout these difficult years it kept pushing through with its message of peace, even when many decent Israelis and Palestinians had all but given up hope.
I went to the anniversary conference yesterday, and sat in on a session with actress Kathleen Turner on nurturing peace through culture and media.
From my own experiences as a journalist I know that spreading good news isn’t easy. Some years ago I suggested a series of articles about coexistence to a national newspaper in England. “Great stories,” the editor told me. “They should be written. But they’re not for us.” Nor for anyone else at the time either. Stories about peace don’t sell.
It’s a problem the guests ranging from Daoud Kuttab, a Palestinian journalist, to Prof. Federico Mayor, president of the Foundation for a Culture of Peace and Judith Miller, author and Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, brought up themselves.
Images of destruction are much more exciting to watch, explained Merav Michaeli, the moderator of the event. “Construction just isn’t that sexy,” she said.
They also stressed the importance of humanizing the other side. According to Aliza Savir, the DDG of the Peres Center, the success or failure of any official peace process is completely determined by the extent to which the public are given the opportunity to see the human side of their foe. “Any peace process should focus on humanization of the other side,” she said. “There’s a need to affect mind sets rather than altering political opinions.”
So what positive images could be sexy on TV? “I want to see a Palestinian and Israeli Will and Grace,” said Miller. “Obama wouldn’t be where he is today if it hadn’t been for the positive images of blacks in comedies and dramas on mainstream American TV.”
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